Schneider's Last Thoughts
by Lucky Sea
Summary: Schneider has been a loyal soldier all his life. But the one time he disobeys orders costs him his life - and that of closest friend Andropov. This is a retelling of the anime Blue Dragon Season 1 Episode 48. I hope this does justice to Schneider's sacrifices that led to his demise, and the heroic act he did that transformed a villain into a tragic hero. I do not own Blue Dragon.


_Andropov is very bad at hiding_ , I thought. He's been looking at that girl in pink the whole journey. The ground is rocky and the edges of the stones are sharp, and we all stumble at times, but Andropov's concern is always first and foremost that…girl. She was part of the group of shadow-wielders that brought down Lord Nene. One of the descendants of the seven soldiers of light.

For the supposed descendants of such legends, they're a frail and fragile bunch. Some loud, defiant tanned boy with ridiculous hair that seems to defy gravity. A needy girl in a barmaid's attire who attaches herself to him as much as is physically possible. Another boy, lighter-skinned and greyish hair that never seems to smile. There's this weird creature with some manner of pottery worn in the fashion of a hat, and finally our girl. Andropov's girl, rather. He's young, so he doesn't know discretion very well. I mean, who could miss the way he delayed reporting to the ship? And how did he think I wouldn't connect the dots between that and the escape of our prisoner?

The general and the two of us are in front, while that bunch fill in the rear. Andropov is turning his head around every two minutes or so. It might look like he's checking on _them_ , but please! I do know that look when you're checking out a person! He's on another of his "I'll-check-on-her-um-I-mean-them" glances when Shu yells, "Look out!" and knocks down Delphinium. Two creatures of the darkness materialise from nowhere and assaults Delphinium. In an instant, Isabel is out and I have it fire a purple beam from its head into one of the creatures. At the same time, Andropov's Alubujem launches two spears of crystal from itself into the other. At least our reflexes are still sharp.

Shu and Delphinium spend- I should say waste- more time staring each other down for his saving her. I'd argue that Andropov and I did the saving but my training tells me not to waste more time. He'd go about his "I'm trying to save the whole world" rhetoric all over again. That's pretty hypocritical, given that he slaughtered hundreds of Gran Kingdom soldiers when he brought down the Galieon, not to mention the countless lives lost with every passing second he wastes while the darkness spreads – which was(Hey! No surprise here!) his doing! Because they're that pathetic, Shu's "Of course not" response to something about not expecting thanks in return achieves considerable attention from the two other girls and the silver-haired boy(I've decided that it's more silver than grey, I guess).

A few dozen creatures later, Andropov and I end up saving Shu and Silver Hair's lives again from two creatures who took them from the back. Like any reasonable person, we made it a point to take the high ground instead of charging in recklessly. Andropov says what's been on my mind this whole time.

"I swear, it's as if you don't want to survive!"

"Can you believe if we did to lose these guys?" I add, "I mean, how that'd ever happen?"

Shu and Silver Hair reply angrily, the Graviton Ball by Delphinium's Chimera not helping to cool the atmosphere.

We ambled on towards the Sealed Grounds. The general makes the assumption that Zola would be at the Sealed Grounds, because that's what she must protect in order to keep the darkness spreading. And that's where things started getting interesting. It started with that gate.

It wasn't any gate – it had to be at least a hundred metres wide, and was so high I could only just about see the top if I craned my neck upwards as high as I could. I doubt an arrow from Isabel could reach the top of it.

The bunch of dumbasses run straight for the gate, as if there was nothing to block their way. _This gate is a construct of the darkness_ , I thought, _if it's here than there must be something guarding it._

"Stop!" The general shouts! For several terrible moments our eyes dart around, waiting for some dreaded foe to appear and demolish us. Then, it comes. Two giant scythes appear out of the ground like the fin of some massive, ancient shark only existing in the imaginations of children. The general shouts and summons Odin, that great shadow's spear holding back both fearsome scythes, and their terrifying, gigantic wielders. They are bigger than any creature of the darkness I have witnessed so far by lightyears.

Already the five dumbasses summon their shadows, and already the general is – dare I say it? - breaking under the strain. The man with the will of iron, being outmatched? That grim growl I've heard so much holds the weight of someone exerted beyond his abilities. I think it was at that moment both of us knew we couldn't let him and the others keep wasting their energy on anything that wasn't Zola.

"General Logi, get out of the way. Now!" Andropov calls out as he unleashes a hail of crystals onto the creatures. The smoke dissipates quickly to reveal these gatekeepers completely untouched. They clank their scythes together, their discipline ominously well-rehearsed.

The two boys are up and running despite the general's warnings. One massive streak of glowing blue fire and a twin streams of lightning strikes the creatures, only for them to shake it off and brutally strike the Blue Dragon and Minotaur down. The orange creature and his Saber Tiger clinch one of the creatures, and that's my opening.

"Go! Quick! Attack them now!" the general orders.

"Right!" I reply. Isabel fires a hail of five arrows at the creatures, who seems just in the way, just about to be struck – when they disappear just before the arrows make contact.

"What?" I'm looking around for the creatures when they reappear right behind the now outflanked orange thing.

"Maromaru, behind you!" Andropov calls out. So Maromaru squeals like a coward until the general exerts himself again, having Odin fire a huge yellow beam that strikes both creatures. Again, they dissipate, then reform at the gate. Their scythes clank together. I could've sworn it was a drill.

Oddly enough, these gatekeepers aren't actively aggressive so we take the opportunity to come up with a strategy. Delphinium submits to the general's plan of having "the three of us"- meaning Andropov, himself and me- handle these creatures. But it's when he says, "Without all seven of us, we won't be able to seal the darkness" that I realise the task I have at hand. The general can't get hurt. _He cannot afford to_. But he proved that he couldn't beat these creatures, nor could he fight them without paying the price of costly energy wasted. _We should be doing this, not him_ , I think. A glance at Andropov's silent glare is all I need to confirm that we have the same thoughts. The two of us are a little apart from the group, but another Shu complaint is all the distraction I need to whisper in Andropov's ear.

"Besides, it's easier for us to do this without you because the three of us are so used to working together, " I interrupt when the general mentions having a plan in mind.

"That's right," Andropov affirms as he takes my side.

"Okay. Now, we don't have much time," The general says, addressing us. "Your job is to keep those two creatures busy. While they're occupied, I'll go open the gate. Got it?" Both of us nod an affirmative.

The girl Andropov has his eye for is concerned for us, and the general responds with a cool, "Don't worry, we'll catch up after we stop these two." I hide a smile. He has no clue what I intend to do. Shu goes on another rant - gosh, he does do everything possible to annoy us, when I notice Andropov approaching that girl.

"Please, Kluke." He says. It's trust in his voice. _He loves that girl_ , I realised.

"Look, I promise Kluke, okay?" I cling to each word, intrigued at this indiscretion, "I swear, all of us will make it through this just fine!" He pleads again, calling her by name. _Please, Kluke. Thanks, Kluke._ He's pronouncing her name as if it were some kind of fine gem Alubujem produced. He treasures her, I realised. I might keep my hair covering the right side of my head, but what most people don't know is that the right ear is better at listening to conversations than the left. I heard every word. I heard the feeling behind every word. _This young boy knows that my plan is incredibly risky, and yet he's determined to live for this girl!_ An epiphany dawns on me. That's not the understanding a battle-hardened veteran holds. That is the idealism of youth. I lost my illusions of my ideal world when Gran Kingdom massacred my village, but Andropov hasn't. And it could cost him. It's just as the general told me. Andropov is still a young boy, and I have to take care of him.

I take the general's left side(I'm left-handed, that's why. Isabel is too, by extension, so it holds the bowstring with its left hand) and Andropov his right. Odin charges headlong into the two creatures, and Alubujem fires crystals from its body at them.

"Lightning Cage!" I shout as Isabel fires an arrow above the two creatures, which then becomes many multitudes of arrows, each piercing one crystal. They explode in a blinding flash and the currents surround the creatures, temporarily trapping them. The other shadow-wielders, save for one(I might as well break the mystery – who else could it be but Shu disobeying orders?), ran for the gate as the general strained himself to give Odin the power to push apart these doors.

Some yelling from Andropov and Kluke got him running. At this point, it's only Andropov and myself left isolated from the rest. I know this is it.

The general yells, "Schneider! Andropov! You go through the gate now, too!" I do nothing, and the inevitable happens. One of the creatures fires a violet, lightning-like beam that traces the ground towards the general as it breaks past its cage. At this point, Andropov and I run to block the gatekeepers from the gate. We need the gate at our backs so that the gatekeepers' teleporting powers don't outflank us! The general realises our plan too late – he's been forced back by the impact of the beam, beyond the gate. I'm here before Andropov is, and turn around to cordon off the gatekeepers.

As the gate closes, Logi – the general and the man I've looked up to all my life - shouts, "Schneider, no!". I feel the passion of worry in his voice. He's been my mentor all my life in Gran Kingdom, and he taught me that obedience, above all else, would keep me alive. And now I've disobeyed him for the first time in my life.

It takes all my calm and cool to say, "General Logi. Just leave this one up to us," with a glance backwards. His voice saying, "Schneider, you can't!" resonates in my head like my arrows do with Andropov to guide them. _Is he right? Is this a miscalculation on my part?_ I wonder. But it's too late. The massive gate booms shut on its own accord, another testimony to the supernatural that occurs in the darkness.

"All we have to do now is defeat these two," I say as Andropov once again takes my right side.

"Schneider, Andropov! What do you think you're doing? Open this gate immediately!" Logi is still shouting behind the gate. _He's desperate,_ I realised, _the man I've served all my life is desperate._ He knows that neither Isabel nor Alubujem has the raw strength of Odin or even Valkyrie. We can't open this gate, much less do so "immediately". _He wants us to make it out of this alive. He cares for us. Don't worry General – I've got this._

"Sorry General Logi," I say, "but no can do."

"What?" comes the response on the other side.

"You see, you're a soldier of light, and we aren't," I continued, "we can't take the risk that you won't complete this mission, sir."

"Yeah you may not like it but this is right where we need to be," chimes in Andropov.

"This is what we're supposed to do – now please hurry!" I finish. For a second, I'm waiting for another protest but for once, this assertive man is answering to me, odd as it sounds. I can hear his footsteps grow more and more distant, and I know he has done what I've asked.

"They're finally leaving", says Andropov.

"While General Logi can be presumptuous, at least he's agreed with us this once. And so, now the tables have turned." I add.

"Crystal Square!" Andropov shouts as Alubujem uses its four hands to fire four crystals that float above the two gatekeepers, then transform into white, circle-shaped loops that traps them.

"Blazen Rain!" I roar, Isabel firing an arrow that explodes into a blue orb just above the gatekeepers and raining down light blue diamond-shaped bolts onto them. The storm of bolts are so fierce that the ground shakes and I have to adjust my footing. Dust kicks up everywhere as the wind grows to such strengths that my hair is pushed aside. They couldn't have been defeated by that alone, so I prepare for my next attack.

"Now listen Andropov, you keep your distance, alright!" I shout over the wind and dust(some of it going into my unprotected eyes, mouth and nose).

"Like you keep yours!" he remarked. I was stunned. Andropov was _not_ a front-line fighter, he was reconnaissance! What was with this defiance of his, at this critical juncture of all times? The general's words came back to me all over again. _Schneider,_ he said, _Andropov is still just a young boy. You take care of him, okay?_ I had accepted his order without question. And this was where the heat of battle, the excitement of fighting on the front-lines instead of watching Gillian, Toad, Bishop, Lemaire and Cynthia fight from afar got to me. The normal Schneider would have repeated his order with more force. But then I was too happy to have my best friend in all the world, my little brother, stick this out with me. And I said the wrong thing.

"Then let's finish them off!"

"Alright!" Andropov replied.

The dust dissipated, and the two gatekeepers became clear targets again.

Isabel was already separating its bow into two swords and forming a white ball of energy by holding the swords close to each other when I shouted, "Luminous Ball!", pushing my fist forward as I push myself to let the power of my attack make contact as fast as possible. My shadow lets the ball of energy go but the gatekeepers dodge it in time. But because of Andropov, that's not a problem.

"Eternity Reflection!" he yells, crossing his arms with palms faced sidewards. Crystals jut out everywhere amidst the mountains on our flanks and the ground. They reflect my Luminous Ball around but still the gatekeepers dodge it. Andropov has sharper eyes than I do though, for all my talents as a marksman, and he shouts, "Send it diagonally to the right!"

I exert myself to move the Luminous Ball as he commands, striking a mountain. As soon as it hits I know that it's not enough. The reverbations through the air are too strong.

"Did it work?" Andropov asks.

"No, not yet," I reply. Sure enough, the two gatekeepers reform with an eerie hissing sound.

"You know, I have to say, this fight's way easier with just the two of us, isn't it?" I remark. Usually with all the other shadow-wielders around who specialise in close ranged combat and have bad aim with ranged attacks, I have to restrict the use of Isabel's arrows for fear of say, Shu(or Lemaire and Cynthia, in the past) getting in front of my attack. Since Andropov's attacks exclusively support mine, we've been able to keep up a constant barrage of accurate, long-ranged strikes that keeps the gatekeepers away from us. They have been able to do nothing so far but take a hammering!

Andropov grins. The now familiar clanking of scythes tell us that the gatekeepers have reformed.

"Here we go!" I shout. Isabel first advances on the gatekeepers so as to buy Andropov both time and space, then uses its twin swords to keep them parry the scythes whilst rapidly retreating.

"Do it now!" I yell once Isabel losses too much ground.

"Right!" Andropov shouts. "Time for Dark Sign!" Alubujem's only eye glows and fires a red beam that grows in density and width with every centimetre. By the time it hits the gatekeepers, the flash has filled up the entire valley that we're fighting in. The sounds of scythes clanking against the ground tell me that the heat of the attack has gotten to the gatekeepers – they look far less formidable with their scythes lowered and smoke coming off their, well, whatever creatures of darkness have for skin.

"It worked!" exclaims Andropov.

"Of course," I reply, already summoning my lapsing reserves of strength for my last attack "Okay, I'm just about ready for this to end now." Andropov replies, "Me too,", and Alubujem fires two crystals that float for me to use.

The way I make an attack like this one is difficult. I have to have done it many times before because straining every last ounce of strength in your body is incredibly difficult – the more tired you are, especially if you haven't trained to deal with exhaustion, the more your body shuts down and refuses to let you carry on fighting. Melee fighters like Cynthia would not have such a big problem because she could still have her shadow soak up most attacks, but ranged attackers like me have to hit hard or suffer the consequences – consequences that probably amounted to death, in this situation.

"Arghhh!" I throw my head backwards, screaming as my veins bulge and my eyes go haywire as every synapse in my body offers power to just this one arrow. "Blast Arrow!" I roar as Isabel lets loose the energy of restrained within its one arrow with one of Alubujem's crystals as its arrowhead. The results amaze. A light blue beam that made Andropov's Hell Flash pale in size hits the two gatekeepers. Dust and wind, even stronger than the one after I had performed Blazen Rain, kick up around us. Andropov, unlike unwise old me, bothers covering his mouth with one gloved hand. But I can't be bothered to. It took a lot of my energy, if not all of it, to pull off Blast Arrow.

"Did we do it?" Andropov asks.

Exhaustion creeps into my voice as my vision blurs. I murmur, "I think so" before going down on one knee. I hear Andropov exclaim "Schneider no!" before my eyes close.

Some time, I think it was a few minutes, passes before I regain consciousness. Andropov is pulling my right arm over his shoulder and half carrying me around. There's no sign of the two monstrous gatekeepers, unlike the eerie hissing that had forewarned their return after my Luminous Ball.

Andropov notices that I've opened my eyes and asks, "How are you feeling?". He expresses concern for my welfare like no one else ever did, except perhaps for the general. Andropov is so young, and yet has seen so much battle. I can't help but feel sorry for him, having to haul around an injured comrade on doomsday at the mere age of 10.

"I'm sorry", I manage. A little young boy carrying good old me around… the thought makes me laugh.

"What is it?" Andropov asks.

"Nothing." I reply. I think back to the first ever meeting of the members of the Independent Flying Squadron. We had entered by age, from Gillian in his thirties being the oldest on the left and Andropov at ten being the youngest on the right. I remember that I was in the centre, and to my left was Lemaire, a full ten years older than myself, and Cynthia who was only younger than me by a few months on my right. Andropov had looked so out of place, standing in the vicinity of veteran warriors like Logi, Gillian and Lemaire as well as talented fighters like Cynthia and myself. "I just never thought that of all of us, the youngest would be taking care of me, instead of the other way around!"

Andropov laughs at the remark. "So," I continue in spite of his "huh" of surprise, "it's time to stop carrying me like a kid." My mind wanders back to Andropov's earlier conversation with Kluke, her concerned face staring worriedly at him. "Especially because of the… that _girl_."

In an instant Andropov has moved my arm off himself and blushed at me. "Just be quiet!" He cries, "Why would you bring that up?"

I'm about to respond when my whole world erupts in pain. From the left of my waist to my right shoulder there is nothing but hurt, hurt, hurt and I feel the breath of wind as I'm thrown through the air. I hit the gate headfirst, twisting my neck at such an angle that I fear paralysis, then there's even more _pain and it hurts, hurts, so much!_

I feel the hard and jagged stones cut my exposed skin before I realise I've fallen to the ground. Everything hurts. My chest, my back, my neck, every joint in my limbs feel like it's on fire. I look upwards, and see the two dreaded creatures return, without so much as a scratch! _No, no, no, how can this be?_ I think. _I gave everything I had, absolutely everything I had, into that one attack and they're still standing!_ I grit my teeth, which is unusually uncouth behaviour for me, and clench my fists.

They are coming closer and closer, not swiftly as predators to a prey and certainly not teleporting quickly like they did during the first moments of the fight. They are unbeaten, unbroken. And I have nothing more to throw at them. And neither does Andropov… Andropov! Where is he?

I look towards my right, and there he is – a tired, bruised and tattered body amidst the background of two hundred metre high monsters. "Schneider?" He calls quietly, in a shaky voice so soft that I can barely hear it.

"Don't talk, Andropov," I say quickly, even as the sharp rocks scratching my exposed ribs make even speaking difficult, "save your strength!"

"One… more… shot!" He mumbles. "What?" I ask.

"I have one… more… shot… left in me!" Andropov struggles, his vacant blue eyes staring at the unused crystal that Alubujem had created earlier, "Use that… please." And with that, my best friend in all the world, my comrade and brother, is silenced.

"Andropov!" I call out desperately, but it's no use. Andropov is unmoving and does not stir. He has fallen face-down so I can't tell if he's breathing but there isn't the slightest trace of movement. Andropov, my partner in combat for all these months I've served under General Logi's Independent Flying Squadron, is no more.

The frustration, hurt and guilt swells through my heart and I can feel it pump ever so faster, so much so that I suddenly have the strength to bang my left fist against the ground in frustration.

I'm gritting my teeth, all polish and demeanor that years of emphasis on eloquence had taught me thrown out of the window. I'm feeling so many different emotions that I can't describe them in anything but a gnarled gnashing of my teeth.

I struggle to rise. My brain and heart beats and pumps, blood rushing through my body. My feet find the ground, my hamstrings and thighs contract and expand, and I barely stand up before the slowly encroaching hundred metre tall gatekeepers, who are barely fifty metres away from me. I stagger, swaying a bit too much to my right before I correct my balance.

 _Andropov. Andropov. Andropov._ Is all I can think of. These… these _accursed creatures killed him!_ And then the rage comes to me. It's not some kind of power that I suddenly gained – I'm no true shadow-wielder, and am definitely not a Shu when it comes to coming up with devastating new attacks on the fly. But I have focus and will. And here, I call upon all the willpower and all the focus I can summon to push every last droplet of power I have left in me. I can feel my eyes dilate as I blankly ignore the images I see, tortured by the powers that flow through my body. An unfamiliar aura surrounds me. It's more violent than any shot that I've ever had Isabel take. But I know that even then, it's not enough. Not enough. Never, ever enough! I need more power!

"Argggghhhhhh!" I roar. My fists are clenched, my muscles flaring, my lips and throat are cracked and bleeding from dryness. I feel like I haven't had any water to drink in days, and my stomach is torched from the pain in my abdomen. Even then I keep summoning more and more out of myself, taking out every reservoir of energy in my body like scavenging water in the desert. My right forearm becomes almost unresponsive to my will, while my left has become bulging and veiny from the incredible exertion I place on my heart to keep pumping blood, jerking about in the absence of my ability to control it from the oxygenated blood forcing through every artery. My shirt is torn apart from the physical aura of force coming off my very being.

 _I need more power!_ I realise. I'm way over-capacity, but even then these creatures were far beyond anything I had ever fought – so this attack of mine had to be everything I could throw. I force my brain to order even more out of my body, the pressure from the blood pumping and pumping through my temples and ears deafening out all sound and thought, and the pain from both inside and outside tearing my body to pieces. I put so much focus into this attack that my sight, my area of vision, seems to narrow as if my pupils were constricting. _For you, Andropov, General Logi!_ I think as my brain succumbs to overwork and I can't think of anything but feeling the pain.

"Blast Arrow!" I yell, and Isabel lets the crystal-infused attack loose. It can only go one direction: straight ahead. The outpouring of energy is so bright, I'm blinded to the point I can't see anything but shades even with constant blinking. There is nothing that I can see except for white, and nothing that I can feel except for emptiness, and nothing I can hear except for the sound of the ground trembling before the power I have just unleashed upon these demons.

The tremors are everywhere – inside the beating of my heart, within the beating in my brain, upon the twitching of my flesh and in the shaking of the earth. The two gatekeepers crumble into little pieces and are blown away by the wind, much like my life's purpose has been blown away like dust in a desert.

Andropov is dead. Andropov is dead. I'm dead. I'm dying. I will die.

All my life, I've been a fighter. I had no one who quite understood me in my village – a blonde, pale-skinned boy with haunted yellow eyes like myself was outcast pretty quickly. War came to me, and I found in there horror but also the placating abode of the armed forces. Taking orders, acknowledgements of "Yes sir", orderliness in the ranks of marching troops, these were what comforted me in a world gone mad. I can't help but return to my base instincts of what I'd always do after completing a mission during my Gran Kingdom days – offer a report to the general.

Grunting and nearly stumbling, I lay my back to rest against the massive gate.

"General," I murmur, "report, sir." I raise my eyes skywards, into the black nothingness of the darkness both within and without of my self. "We have accomplished the mission." I used to say those words so many times, and was always so certain of the general's brief yet touching acknowledgements. But this time it was different. This time, I hadn't come out of this mission successful in fulfilling all objectives.

"I'm so sorry sir," I glance for the briefest of moments out of the corner of my eyes and yes, Andropov is still unmoving, "it seems that I wasn't able to keep my promise. I couldn't protect Andropov after all." The failure of pain, painful and hurting failure, expresses itself in a sigh but I feel more than just that. I've become the last living member of the Independent Flying Squadron, and I'm not just a failure but a traitor. I broke the general's trust by tricking him into going past that gate without us. I swore that Andropov and myself could handle it but I underestimated these – _things_. And it had been an innocent and sweet boy who had someone to live for that had paid the price for my stupidity. My treason. My failure. I deserve punishment. I deserve death. I am awaiting the general's pronouncement of his judgement for every mistake I've made – oh General Logi, what could you think of me? "We won, but I lost." I whisper and close my teary eyes, just waiting for what I deserve to envelope me.

 _The first time I had met the general, it had been when errant Gran Kingdom forces had attacked and looted my village. I ran and hid in some houses while they were massacring everyone I ever knew in my ten years of life. I don't remember how I survived, just that I had nothing but my bare fists to fight several trained armoured soldiers. I could barely recall running all night, attacking guards, always using projectiles like broken bricks or the soldiers' own guns, until I had finally become to only still-living human being in the whole ruins of the village._

 _It was then that the general approached me. "Hey you," he had called, causing me to turn and face him, "you're pretty good, aren't you kid?" He had struck me as a war-hardened fighter even then – strong and impressive, but with a sense of gruff yet eloquent friendliness that he gave to people he thought deserved it. It gratifies me now that he would appreciate me, well, murdering his troops._

" _So, what's your name?" he had asked. I don't know why I responded. "It's Schneider," I had replied. The general gave a grin without showing his teeth, which looked menacing to me then. "You've got real steel behind your eyes," He commented. I remember frowning at that._

 _Afterwards, I had been recruited into the Gran Kingdom army. I still remember my first ever taste of action – an amphibious, night assault on an enemy fortress. It was all so confusing – we were fighting with bullets and guns, the enemy fought with muskets, gunpowder, and swords, and no one could see very well but all could hear the moans of the dying, the screams of the wounded, the shrieks of the defiant._

 _One of what I did miss then was an enemy soldier, his face grim and shouting as he swung his bayonet in an overhand chop at my head. I could only turn in fright as another, more masculine and furious roar came and was just in time to watch the general incapacitate the soldier who a second later would have taken my life._

" _Don't let your guard down, no matter what!" He had said. "Now come on, let's take down the enemy!" I remembered that because it had been the first time I had seen what the general was made out of. He had never started out as a shadow user. General Logi was a career military-man, who started out as the most base of the infantry and had risen through the ranks with his heroics. This was not the first time he had saved my life, but it was the most decisive and striking one of those moments. I had realized, then and there, that General Logi was a man I would follow all my life. How odd that right now, I would be the one who made him follow my orders._

 _My final memory of the general comes from that moment in the hangar of the general's distinctive crimson flagship. I had noticed that the equipment for this flagship was different – it had far more sophisticated radar technology, could field advanced shadow units, and even had personalised internal headquarters for someone… but who? "What's this?" I had asked the general._

" _We're establishing the Independent Flying Squadron," he had said, giving my confused face a glance. "So, will you be joining us?" He smirked at my indecision when I heard the word "us" – who else were there? Of course, it would turn out to be people like Cynthia and Gillian, whom I didn't quite agree with, but also Lemaire and especially Andropov, whom I could get along with better._

 _I had said yes – and I never regretted my decision. My time in the Independent Flying Squadron, working as a team with the legendary man I had so admired… I cherished it like nothing else in the world. I feel good. I feel nostalgia, which drowns out all other things I can feel right now. Except thankfulness. Thankfulness for my time with that man, the general._

"I'm sorry, General Logi." I think the muscles on my face just worked out a smile. All my time with the general, I'm so thankful that I could spend my life with someone so worth following and fighting for. The exhaustion, in my head and muscles and every fiber of my body, it's too much. _Thank you for everything, general, thank you, thank you, and thank you._ "I just… I need to rest awhile." I manage as I succumb to the darkness.

 _I hope I've made you proud._

 **AN: This is a one-shot fanfic about Blue Dragon, specifically Season 1 Episode 48. This story takes place from the view of Schneider, who is perhaps the most unique character in the Blue Dragon universe for me. Schneider, like so many others, has no parents to speak of except for a father figure in Logi. Unlike Shu and so many others, his life's goal wasn't made without influence – he always was the loyal soldier following orders. He owed his life to Logi's actions. He trained and fought amongst the Independent Flying Squadron from its founding to its disbanding. But at the point of his death, Schneider shows that he is far more than ambition manifested in a person, unlike Shu("I'll end conflict and misery!") or the egoistic Lemaire and Cynthia. Schneider just wanted to protect the ones he cherished by following orders, namely Andropov. By breaking his orders from Logi for the first time, he loses Andropov to what he thinks is a fatal injury. This is significant because it shows the ramifications of breaking rules when you're not the epitome of destruction like Shu and Blue Dragon are. The only risk Schneider ever took in his life cost Andropov to be severely injured and his own life. And he breaks his persona of cold, distant arrogance in his final, exhausted-sounding words, "I think I'd like to rest for a while". He's humbled. He's human. And he dies thinking that he lost everything, taking comfort only in his memories of his time with Logi. Schneider humanises Logi in Episode 48, which is why I believe his story is worth telling – because he made a villain look human, is very flawed and limited to the point that it tragically costs him his life, and most of all has complex feelings and regrets. The last words of the essay echo General Logi's acknowledgments of Schneider and Andropov's sacrifices when he thinks aloud, "Schneider. Andropov. You may be proud."**


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